Playing in the fourth-seeded group, Georgetown Prep’s Mike Jones figured there wouldn’t be much of a crowd following him during Wednesday’s Washington Private Schools Championship. So when the freshman golfer saw a man in the distance as he prepared to play the 13th hole at P.B. Dye Golf Club, Jones immediately knew who it was.

“I saw my dad out there,” Jones said with a grin. “It’s not like he makes me play bad, but I guess there’s a little more pressure when someone is watching you. I ended up bogeying the next four holes.”

But the rough stretch did little to take the attention off Jones. Thanks to six birdies, the freshman recorded a 2-over-par 74 to lead Georgetown Prep to the Metros team title in Ijamsville. With a score of 384, the Little Hoyas finished 13 strokes ahead of two-time defending champ Gonzaga, which was paced by Tyler Olmstead’s round of 74. Landon’s Brent Bubes and Morgan Egloff also shot 74 for third-place Landon.

Jones began his charge early by firing birdies on Nos. 1 and 4, with the latter coming in impressive fashion. After hitting his drive into the rough, Jones used a wedge to get back on the green, some 40 feet away from the pin. Summoning a soft touch to navigate a big break, he drained the long putt to move to 2 under.

On the par-4 No. 12, Jones again recovered from a bad lie in the rough, chipping his approach shot to within 15 feet of the hole before nailing a par-saving putt.

Luke Malanchuk kept Gonzaga competitive with two birdies and a score of 1-under 35 on the front nine. But the Little Hoyas’ balanced effort pushed them to the top. Five of their six golfers finished in the 70s, again showing the unified, consistent play that yielded the Interstate Athletic Conference title this spring.

“Today was about five guys playing solid. Nobody fabulous; just solid golf down the line,” Prep Coach Bob Barry said. “This was a team that didn’t play particularly well in the IAC tournament last year and these freshmen, Mike Jones and Davis Lamb, came in and energized us. We had a balanced attack and these guys never quit.”

Jones, along with Carter Connelly (76) and Brendan Peel (78), exemplified the team’s resolve by shaking off late bogeys to card birdies on the par-4 No. 18, securing the Little Hoyas’ 16th Metros crown.

“The consistency throughout this team was big for us,” Jones said. “All of us are pretty even and capable of shooting the same scores, and that showed in the win.”

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